Smoky

Smoky is a 1946 American Western film directed by Louis King and starring Fred MacMurray, Anne Baxter and Bruce Cabot. The film was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the second of three film adaptations of the 1926 novel Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James; others were made in 1933 and 1966. Plot A cowboy riding alone in Utah witnesses a stampede of wild stallions, one of whom particularly catches his eye. He returns the horse to its rightful owner, Julie Richards, owner of the Rocking R Ranch, introducing himself as Clint Barkley and asking for a job. The wild horse, Smoky, slowly develops a relationship with Clint, but ranch foreman Jeff doesn't trust the new hired hand, who is vague and mysterious about his past. A stranger arrives named Frank and persuades a reluctant Clint to vouch for him to be hired as a wrangler. It turns out Clint took the blame for a crime Frank committed and served eight months behind bars. Frank begins causing trouble at the ranch, mistreating Smoky and the other horses. A gambler turns up, seeking Clint's payment for a $200 debt, discovering that Frank actually lost the money and forged Clint's name on the IOU.